Journeyman rider Chris DeCarlo bolstered by success in Saudi Arabia

Equi-PhotoChris DeCarlo packed up his family in New Jersey and fit right in amid the 18-horse fields in Saudi Arabia.

Chris DeCarlo was in one of those professional ruts that can follow a devastating injury for a journeyman rider.

So when the unique opportunity came up to ride for King Abdullah Al Saud in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last winter — on a six-month contract, with his wife and daughter in tow — he jumped at the chance, packing up everything and leaving New Jersey behind.

“It was one of the best things I ever did,” said DeCarlo, a jockey mainstay on the state’s racing circuit for the past 25 years. “The racing is very good, very competitive, with 18-horse fields every race. I got to ride a lot of nice horses.

“It’s hard to explain why I did it. My business hasn’t been what I’d like the past two years. But I was also riding for the king, which is an honor in itself.”

Back healthy — and with his career bolstered by his Saudi Arabian success — DeCarlo continued his winning ways early in the meet at Monmouth Park with a patient ride aboard 7-5 favorite Artisanal in the co-featured Little Silver Stakes as a crowd of 13,522 looked on.

Artisanal, trained by Todd Pletcher, needed room late to mow down two frontrunners, with DeCarlo biding his time until he could move the 3-year-old filly to the outside and in the clear.

“We were boxed in around the far turn, but I wasn’t worried,” DeCarlo said after Artisanal won her third straight, covering the mile on the grass in 1:35.7. “She’s the type of horse that you can wait for an opening rather than have to look for one. I finally got out at the eighth pole and it was all her from there.”

DeCarlo, who rides many of Pletcher’s horses at Monmouth, had been struggling to return from a devastating shoulder injury that sidelined him for most of 2008. He rode just 10 winners from 124 mounts at Monmouth last year, but is now 3-for-15 at the current meet.

He comes back to Monmouth every summer, he said, for a simple reason.

“It’s home,” said the 42-year-old Monmouth Beach resident, who grew up in Sayreville.

With negotiations still ongoing for Morris Bailey to take over operations at Monmouth from the state, the original June 1 date for the change almost certainly won’t be met. “It’s highly unlikely,” said Ron Riccio, Bailey’s attorney.

A more realistic date for Bailey’s takeover is early July, with Riccio still trying to finalize the deal. One of the hang-ups remains a concession from the horsemen to reduce the racing dates, from the 141 required by state law to 71.

“Progress continues to be made,” Riccio said. “We’re close. It’s just a complicated transaction. The devil is in the details and we’re going through the details.”

Bailey made a brief appearance at Monmouth on Sunday but had to delay a tour of the track due to personal reasons.

Joe Bravo, who already has 13 Monmouth riding titles (but none since 2007), is the early runaway leader in the jockey standings after winning three more races Sunday, including the co-featured Red Cross Stakes. Bravo now has 11 winners in the first six racing days.